Dialling Phone Numbers

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for effecting a voice communication between user terminals connected via a communication network include displaying a menu of country options to a user and receiving a number in local form. Formatting rules are recalled for a destination country selected by the user from the country options. A country prefix for the destination country is prepended to the number in accordance with the formatting rules to generate a formatted number. The formatted number is supplied to a client installed at the user terminal for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/415,992, filed May 2, 2006. The entire teachings of the aboveapplication are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to dialling phone numbers, andparticularly but not exclusively to assisting a user to dial phonenumbers in a correct format. The phrase “phone number” encompasses anynumeric or alphanumeric sequences which can be used to instigate acommunication between two end users, and in particular includes withinits ambit fax numbers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A so-called peer-to-peer telephone system is described in WO2005/009019.In such a system, a plurality of end users can be connected forcommunication purposes via a communications structure, for example theinternet or world wide web. The communications structure issubstantially decentralised with regard to communication route switchingtherein for connecting the end users. That is, the end users canestablish their own communication routes through the structure based onexchange of one or more authorisation certificates (user identitycertificates—UIC) to acquire access to the structure. The structureincludes an administration arrangement issuing the certificates to theend users. One such phone system exists under the trade name SKYPE™.

In order to use such a phone system, each user terminal installs clientsoftware for making calls. A user terminal can for example be a personalcomputer (PC). The client software itself is not principally the subjectof this invention and so is not described in detail herein. It iscapable of receiving a phone number for an end user in a standardisedformat and implementing a call to that user. It also has a registry forholding user names and numbers, so that a name, instead of a number, canbe used to instigate a call. To allow a user to use the client software,it causes a display of the personal computer to display various imageswith which a user can interact using a conventional user interface suchas a keyboard or mouse and cursor arrangement. This includes the displayof a dialpad with numbers by means of which a user can dial the numberthat he wishes to call.

The SKYPE peer-to-peer phone system is widely used, but some issues havearisen which are addressed herein to simplify use of the system forusers, particularly but not exclusively new users. In particular, userscan have a difficulty in selecting the correct format of numbers to dialusing the dialpad. This is particularly the case when diallingInternational numbers, that is dialling to reach a user who is outside acountry where the dialling user is located.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method foreffecting a voice communication between user terminals connected via acommunication network, the method comprising:

-   -   displaying a menu of country options to a user;    -   receiving a number in local form;    -   recalling formatting rules for a destination country selected by        the user from the country options;    -   prepending to the number a country prefix for the destination        country in accordance with the formatting rules to generate a        formatted number; and    -   supplying the formatted number to a client installed at the user        terminal for effecting the voice communication using the        formatted number.

Another aspect of the invention provides a predictive dialler componentcomprising program code elements which, when executed by a computer,implement the following steps:

-   -   displaying a menu of country options to a user;    -   receiving a number in local form;    -   recalling formatting rules for a destination country selected        from the country options;    -   prepending to the number a country prefix for the destination        country in accordance with the formatting rules to generate a        formatted number; and    -   supplying the formatted number to a client installed at the user        terminal for effecting the voice communication using the        formatted number.

A further aspect of the invention provides a computer terminal foreffecting a voice communication via a communication network, thecomputer terminal comprising:

-   -   a processor arranged to execute a predictive dialler component        and a client;    -   a user interface;    -   a display; and    -   a store for holding formatting rules for a plurality of        countries and wherein the user interface is arranged to allow a        user to enter a number in local form, and wherein the predictive        dialler component comprises program code elements which when        executed display on the display a menu of country options to a        user, recall formatting rules for a destination country selected        by a user from the store, append to the number a country prefix        for the country of destination in accordance with said        formatting rules to generate a formatted number and supply the        formatted number to the client for effecting the voice        communication using the formatted number.

A further aspect of the invention provides a method of using a computerterminal to effect a voice communication over a communication networkcomprising:

-   -   selecting from a menu of country options displayed to a user a        destination country for the communication;    -   entering a local number using an input means of the computer        terminal; and instigating the voice communication by actuating a        call button displayed to a user on the computer terminal.

A further aspect of the invention provides a method of effecting a voicecommunication between user terminals connected in a communicationnetwork comprising:

-   -   displaying to a user an icon representing a default country;    -   receiving a local number;    -   prepending the country prefix of a default country to the local        number to generate a formatted number; and    -   supplying the formatted number to a client for instigating the        communication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how thesame may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way ofexample to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of user terminals communicating via acommunication network;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of components at a user terminal;

FIGS. 3 to 10 are screen shots illustrating operation of a predictivedialler component;

FIG. 11 illustrates the layout of a country database;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the steps carried out by apredictive dialler component; and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating steps taken by a user to use acomputer terminal to effect a voice communication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating aspects of apeer-to-peer telephone system relevant to the present diallingarrangements. Reference numeral 2 denotes a world wide network such asthe world wide web or internet. Although the network is itself notcountry specific and in fact crosses country boundaries withoutnecessarily recognising them as such, as far as effecting communicationover a phone network (such as the public switched telephone network(PSTN) or mobile networks) is concerned, it is considered to encompass aplurality of GEO zones G1, G2, G3, etc. Only three GEO zones are shownfor the sake of clarity, but it will be appreciated that there are alarge number of such GEO zones in the world. Each GEO zone represents acountry and is associated with an appropriate country prefix P1, P2. InFIG. 1, the GEO zone G1 is shown associated with Estonia for which thecountry prefix P1 is 372. The GEO zone G3 is shown associated withAfghanistan for which the country prefix P3 is 93. Reference numeralsU1, U2 and U3 denote users of the phone system and in particular userterminals such as personal computers PCs. Users U1 and U2 are showncommunicating via the GEO zone G1 which we will refer to herein as thehome country (in the example discussed herein this is Estonia). The userU3 is shown located in an overseas country, in this case Afghanistan. Oneach user terminal is installed client software 100 which implements thefunctionality discussed herein to effect calls to allow voicecommunication to be effected. The communication is in the form of voiceover internet protocol (VoIP) or any other suitable protocol andincludes video, chat, messaging, and other forms of real-timecommunications.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of components at the user terminalU1, U2, U3. As in FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes the callingclient software. The client software includes settings 102 whichincorporate a user's profile country. The user terminal also hasapplications software 104, for example Windows which has its own countryregistry settings. Reference numeral 106 denotes a predictive diallercomponent which is associated with a dialpad wizard 108 and anaddressbar 110. The client 100, applications software 104, predictivedialler 106, dialpad wizard 108 and adressbar 110 are all softwarecomponents executed by a suitable processor 4 at the user terminal. Adatabase 112 holds formatting rules and symbols for a plurality ofcountries. There is a display 114 which shows the screens of subsequentfigures to a user. Reference numeral 116 denotes a user interface whichis in the form of a keyboard, and reference numeral 118 denotes adisplay interface such as a mouse and cursor arrangement which allows auser to interact with the screen in a known way.

An aspect of the invention allows an internet voice application tobehave as a local phone. This can be accomplished using predictivedialler 106 with the dialpad wizard 108 or with the addressbar 110. Thedialpad wizard will be described first.

FIG. 3 is a screen print showing the display launched by the wizard 108when the user first launches the client software 100 to make a phonecall. The display shows a call button 6 and an end call button 8 andincludes a field 10 in which the number to be called by the clientsoftware 100 is displayed. Next to this field is the image of a countryicon 12 representing the local country, in this case the Estonian flag.The client software 100 detects the country in which the user terminalis located either using the country settings of the application software104 or the profile settings 102 in the client software 100. The displayalso has three tabs, a contacts tab 14, a dial tab 15 and a history tab16.

FIG. 4 illustrates the effect of a user actuating the dial tab 15 toselect the dial screen 18. The dial screen shows the call button 6, endcall button 8, number field 10 and country icon 12 as before. Inaddition, it displays a dialling keypad 20, a field 22 for displayingthe country in which the user to be called is located and a field 24which displays the number entered at the keypad 20. The field 22 holds acountry name 22 a, a country prefix 22 b and a country icon 22 c.

In order to make a local call, the user types in a local number, eitherusing the display interface 118 to actuate the correct buttons on thedisplayed keyboard 20, or using the keyboard 116. As shown in FIG. 5,this is displayed in the field 24 and also in field 10. In this case thecall that is being made is from one user terminal U1 in Estonia toanother user terminal U2 in Estonia. The user need only enter theEstonian local number as shown in FIG. 5. However, in order to make thecall the predictive dialler 106 adds the country prefix for Estonia,372, together with the International dialling sign +, and supplies theformatted number to the client 100. FIG. 6 illustrates the screenshowing the number 30 in the form in which it is dialled by the clientsoftware 100 after the user has clicked on the call button 6. Inaddition to showing the number, the display also shows the country name32, the country icon 34 and the rate for the call 36. The rate is thecost per minute of the call and is dependent on the number which isbeing called.

FIG. 7 illustrates a screen when a user wishes to dial an Internationalnumber, that is for example to make a call from Estonia to Afghanistan.When a menu tab 38 in the field 22 is activated by a user, the screendisplays a menu in the form of a list 40 of countries associated withtheir country icons and country prefixes. The user can scroll throughthe list in a known way. Assume that the user selects Afghanistan thenFIG. 8 illustrates the screen with the country Afghanistan now displayedin the field 22. The user again types into the field 24 the local numberusing the dialpad 20 and then clicks on the call button 6. FIG. 9illustrates the screen as the call is being made which shows the numberwhich has been dialled including the appropriate country prefix forAfghanistan (+93), the country name and the rate. After the call, thecountry is automatically set back to the home country, in this caseEstonia, as shown in field 24 in FIG. 10.

In order to append the correct prefix, the predictive dialler componentrecalls formatting rules from the database which holds relevantinformation for each country in the form of a table. A table could beheld in an XML file or other resource. The format of the table is shownin FIG. 11. In the table of FIG. 11, each country name is associatedwith a number of data elements. The prefix is the country code. The areacode minimum digits is the minimum number of digits allowed in an areacode for the country. The area code maximum digits is the maximum numberof digits allowed for an area code in the country. Subscriber minimumdigits is the minimum number of digits in a subscribed number for thatcountry. The subscriber maximum digits is the maximum number of digitsin the subscriber number for that country. The country icon field holdsan icon for the country in the form of a country flag. The table alsoindicates whether there are any characters to be removed (usually zero)before prepending the country prefix. It will be appreciated that thedatabase could alternatively be located at a remote server to which theuser terminal has access.

The database also holds rate information for calls, the rate dependingon the number being called.

The functionality which has been described above is provided by thedialpad wizard (108) in combination with a predictive dialler component106. The dialpad wizard is used to initiate PSTN (public switchedtelephone network) communication by selecting a country code and a localnumber.

The addressbar 110 is a tool that provides a similar but not identicalfunctionality. The addressbar can be used to initiate a PSTNcommunication (by inputting a complete phone number, country code pluslocal number, or a local number only if the default country can beassumed), an internet protocol voice communication, or an instantmessaging chat communication. The address bar is suitable for moresophisticated users of the peer-to-peer system, and can be used as alocal phone when the default country is assumed.

When the default country is achieved, and a user enters theinternational calling sign “+” and a country code, e.g. 72 (Russia) thepredictive dialler component automatically enter the global mode, andthe country?? charges, in this case from Estonia to Russia.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating the steps implemented by thepredictive dialler component to provide a suitably formatted number tothe client software 100 for making a call. At step S1, the menu ofcountry options is displayed to the user using the drop-down menu 40shown in FIG. 7. At step S2, it is checked whether or not a user hasselected a country. If no country is selected, at step S3 a defaultcountry is selected. The default country is detected as described above.At step S4 it is checked whether or not a user has entered a phonenumber. This number is entered in local form. When the user has enteredthe number, at step S5 formatting rules are recalled from the database112 for the selected country. At step S6, the correct country prefix isappended to the number, and any characters which need to be removed asshown in the formatting rules is removed. The result is a correctlyformatted number which can be displayed to the user at step S7 andsupplied to the client software 100 at step S8.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating the sequence of steps to be takenby a user for effecting a voice communication using the user terminal.At step S12 a user checks the format of the number being dialled. Atstep S10, the user selects from a menu of user options a destinationcountry for the communication. At step S11, the user enters a localnumber using the user interface, in this case using the dialpad which isdisplayed to the user. At step S13, voice communication is instigated byclicking on the call button displayed to a user on the computerterminal.

1. A method for effecting a voice communication between a first user terminal and a second user terminal connected via a communication network, the method comprising: receiving a number in local form at the first user terminal; recalling formatting rules for a destination country selected by the user; prepending to the number a country prefix for the destination country in accordance with the formatting rules to generate a formatted number; supplying the formatted number to a client installed at the user terminal for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number; receiving a further country prefix at the first user terminal; and displaying at the first user terminal an icon representing a country identified by the further country prefix.
 2. A method according to claim 1, comprising displaying a menu of country options to a user for the user to select the destination country.
 3. A method according to claim 1, which comprises the step of displaying to the user the cost per unit time of the communication.
 4. A method according to claim 1, which comprises the step of displaying to a user a call button to be actuated by a user to instigate the communication.
 5. A method according to claim 1, which comprises the step of displaying to a user the formatted number for verification purposes.
 6. A predictive dialler component comprising program code elements which, when executed at a user terminal, implement the following steps for effecting a voice communication via a communication network: receiving a number in local form; recalling formatting rules for a selected destination country; prepending to the number a country prefix for the selected destination country in accordance with the formatting rules to generate a formatted number; supplying the formatted number to a client installed at the user terminal for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number; receiving a country prefix; and displaying an icon representing a country identified by the country prefix to a user of the user terminal.
 7. A computer terminal for effecting a voice communication via a communication network, the computer terminal comprising: a processor arranged to execute a predictive dialler component and a client; a user interface; a display; and a store for holding formatting rules for a plurality of countries and wherein the user interface is arranged to allow a user to enter a number in local form or a country prefix, and wherein the predictive dialler component comprises program code elements which when executed responsive to a number in local form display on the display a menu of country options to a user, recall formatting rules for a destination country selected by a user from the store, prepend to the number of country prefix for the country of destination in accordance with said formatting rules to generate a formatted number and supply the formatted number to the client for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number; and when executed responsive to the country prefix, display an icon representing the country identified by the country prefix.
 8. A computer terminal according to claim 7, wherein the display is caused to display a dialpad to a user whereby the user can enter the number at the user interface.
 9. A computer terminal according to claim 7, wherein the predictive dialler component is associated with a dialpad wizard.
 10. A computer terminal according to claim 7, wherein the predictive dialler component is associated with an addressbar tool.
 11. A method of effecting a voice communication between user terminals and connected in a communication network comprising: displaying to a user an icon representing a default country; receiving a local number; prepending the country prefix of the default country to the local number to generate a formatted number; supplying the formatted number to a client for instigating the communication; receiving a country prefix for a country different to the default country; and changing the icon to represent the different country.
 12. A method according to claim 11, comprising the step of detecting a default country at the user terminal.
 13. A method according to claim 1, in which the icon is a national flag.
 14. A method according to claim 11, in which the icon is a national flag. 